[Joe Chapline]

Whether studded tires are worth the cost is for you to decide, but when I think of what I’m spending on the bike as part of my transportation budget, all the costs seem very small. Almost any service or repair I need for my car costs more than almost anything I do for my bike. I decided to buy studded tires, even though I won’t use them often. The tires will last for many years, and when I’m using them it’s extending the life of my spring-summer-fall tires. Most importantly, I feel I’m less likely to crash — and avoiding a crash could be a huge cost savings. You do need a place to store tires you’re not using; that’s a consideration. And, with limited use, studded tires may well outlast your present bike, so buying a common size would be a better investment than an odd size.

[Joe Chapline]

Another reason to leave them on: I felt better with the studded tires on cold days, even when the roads were pretty clear. You get icy patches from snowmelt, water main breaks, problems with household plumbing, construction work, etc. You don’t know what you’re going to find. There were very few days last winter that I needed the studded tires at all, but having them gave me more confidence to take the bike out.

[Joe Chapline]

I went on an organized road ride last summer. There were painted arrows in the road to mark the route. Someone painted over a lot of the arrows with tar, I guess to get people lost. I put my foot down in fresh tar and got it in my cleats and pedals. That was a mess. I also got lost, but that was my own fault.

[Joe Chapline]

Liz,

Last winter was my first with studded tires, and I just put them on and left them on. My commute is short, and my rides around home, for errands and such, are short. I took the studded tires off in early spring because I was going to go on a long recreational ride. At that point there was still a chance there would be another snowfall, but I figured if I had to put the studs back on, it would be no big deal. I didn’t have to.

I like to keep the bike ready to go and not try to guess what the weather is going to do every day. It sounds like this approach might be good for you, since you have another bike.

[Joe Chapline]

Welcome to the forum, n2soccer21. Sorry about the flats. It sounds like talking to the construction site supervisor went well, and maybe it will result in them trying to keep the bike lane clean. I don’t know what else you could do. I’ve heard of police going after people who deliberately try to sabotage bikes by putting tacks in the road, but I’ve never heard of any action being taken to track down people that carelessly do it.

[Joe Chapline]

@FFX_Hinterlands 10237 wrote:

Ha, Ha. I’m with you. My work Khakis are fine between 55 degrees and 30. Colder than that I might wear long underwear under the pants. Or maybe I’ll just wear thicker pants.

I agree about just wearing work clothes to work. I commute through the winter, although not every day — I work at home most days. When I commute, I dress for the weather and wear my work clothes. The bike part of my commute is short (2-3 miles), I’m sitting up on a hybrid, and I’m not going very fast. I’m outdoors at other times during the day, including a lot of walking. So there’s nothing about the bike part of my commute that requires special gear, other than a helmet and ankle straps. I do have a special hat to keep my head warm under the bike helmet, but I don’t think I’ve ever used it yet. Earmuffs that go around the back of my neck have always been warm enough.

What’s different now is that I decided not to renew my gym membership. Part of my new workout plan is that I will be biking and running outdoors. I was fine walking to the gym in sweats (and a coat) and running on the treadmill, but now that I’m exercising outdoors I found I needed some wardrobe adjustment.

[Joe Chapline]

I did get the Novara Headwind pants, and I’m happy with them. Like the other products mentioned here, these have no padding; I’m wearing them over the padded liners from my bike shorts. I ordered my usual size, and they’re not as form-fitting as they appear in the photo. When it gets colder, I can layer long underwear under them. This was a breakthrough thought for me — I had a problem with the idea of wearing “tights,” but not “long underwear.” I ordered a new pair, and the product I ordered is called “Base Layer,” which is also acceptable to me.

Something other shoppers should look out for: before I got the new fancy-pants, I was riding in old gray sweatpants, and found that they can snag on the bike saddle, especially when dismounting. I had the same problem with the first pair of bike shorts I bought. Those were ridiculously baggy, and I once ended up with the entire saddle inside one leg of the shorts. So look for pants that aren’t TOO baggy.

[Joe Chapline]

@pfunkallstar 10200 wrote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/purple-line-would-require-placing-trail-above-trains-in-tunnel/2011/11/03/gIQAKD9bjM_story.html

Why does this sound so ridiculous?

I will reserve judgement until I see a scale model, with hamsters trained to ride little bicycles through the tube.

[Joe Chapline]

@DismalScientist 9909 wrote:

Is this really true? My standard practice if driving is to move over the center line giving the cyclists 6 or 7 feet. Of course, there are some drivers that think you can’t touch a double yellow line. I drives me nuts as a cyclist when drivers complain that they can’t pass because of the double yellow line even though sight lines are sufficient to safely get by a relatively slow moving cyclist.

When engineers decided where to paint double-yellow lines, no doubt they were thinking about cars passing cars. There are times when drivers need to use their own judgement. If the sight lines are sufficient, no problem. That said, I’ve certainly experienced, as a cyclist, drivers risking a head-on collision to pass me. Although they may be giving me plenty of room when they pass, if a car comes around the bend in the other direction, we’re all going to be involved in the wreck.

If there IS enough room to pass, it doesn’t seem like a great inconvenience to drivers if they have to move completely into the oncoming lane rather than halfway.

[Joe Chapline]

@Roscoe 9893 wrote:

As far as riding 2-abreast so drivers must leave the lane ENTIRELY (or even nearly entirely)……I might not understand you correctly. You’re saying that that is a GOOD thing ? I’m open to other opinions and the opportunity to learn something, but my experience seems to indicate quite the opposite.

It would take less time for a driver to pass two cyclists riding side-by-side than two cyclists riding in single file. The driver would need less of a gap in oncoming traffic. If it’s not safe for the driver to be halfway in the oncoming lane if there might be oncoming traffic around the next curve, it could be better to be entirely in the oncoming lane for a shorter time.

There’s a 3-feet to pass law in Maryland. I don’t think there is in DC or VA. But in any case, there are many situations where it’s not safe for a driver to pass a cyclist when there’s oncoming traffic.

[Joe Chapline]

@DismalScientist 9779 wrote:

Third step: Denial: yell obscenities at the offending component.

I had a friend who used to say, “You have to call it by its right name.”

[Joe Chapline]

@PotomacCyclist 9759 wrote:

I have a nice pair of Under Armour running pants that can work for winter riding. They are not form-fitting but they aren’t baggy either. They taper at the ankles with a zip-up bottom. The pants are black with a reflective strip down the side of both legs. There are two pockets with zippers. I don’t have to worry about my keys falling out while I’m riding or running. I bought them at City Sports a couple years ago.

I rotate those pants with Under Armour tights. I usually wear triathlon shorts under the running pants or tights.

I’ve tried leg warmers with mixed results. They tend to slip down on me. They are fairly tight, but they still slip. They don’t work when I run, but they might work better on the bike. I don’t remember if I’ve ever tried them while riding.

The pants and tights will help a bit with rain, but you’ll still get wet. At least the fabric doesn’t soak up water the way that cotton does.

If I layer up, my legs generally are OK on cold days. I have more issues with my hands and feet getting too cold on those days, even with glove liners, thick winter gloves, mtn bike shoes, socks and neoprene shoe covers. I’ll have to try the chemical hand and foot warmers this winter.

I will check out the Under Armour products. Love them, go Baltimore!

[Joe Chapline]

@americancyclo 9703 wrote:

My first reaction was, ‘No, all my winter stuff is form fitting’ and I like my Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Cycling Tights but then I remembered I have a pair of Royal Mail waterproof overpants that I used to wear when I had to bike commute in the rain more often. I’m sure you could find them or an equivalent at any military surplus store.

They are loose, waterproof, and keep out the wind very well. That being said, they are not breathable, and the pair I have requires ankle straps to keep out of your gears.

Is the Barrier WXB Pant too form fitting for your taste?

No, that could work. I don’t really need waterproof, though, I’m just looking for a step up from sweatpants, which soak up water like a sponge. With waterproof gear, breathability is a problem, as you said. I have a rain suit I wear to commute, I wore it today. This was actually a nice rainy day — cool enough to wear the rain suit. Thanks for the suggestions; I’ll check out the tights, too.

[Joe Chapline]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, I will research these.

@vvill 9678 wrote:

I have a few pairs of MTB shorts – by nature they are 2 layered. I have cheap leg warmers from Nashbar that I pull up to cover the inner padding layer of the MTB shorts. The outer shell layer of the shorts then keeps out a good amount of wind/water.

All the shorts I have are the 2-layered kind, so this could work. Now that I think about it, that’s how we did it back in phys ed — uniform shorts over the sweatpants. I could possibly maybe even consider tights in this scenario.

The Novara Headwind pants from REI seem like a good concept — water- and wind-resistant in the front, wicking in the back. I don’t intend to go out in the pouring rain to exercise, but on days when the weather is unsettled, it would be good to know that if there’s a little drizzle I’ll be fine.

[Joe Chapline]

There was some discussion of ebikes on this thread.

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